Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Picture Day!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Mission Pre-Travel: Complete
Hello everyone! Sincerest apologies for taking so long to blog. The last few places that we’ve stayed in have had bad internet connections, so I was never on it long enough to create a post. So since my last post, quite a lot has happened.
First of all, I’d like to give a shout out to Courtney Kimball. Courtney is one of my friends from school, and today is her 21st birthday. Happy Birthday Courtney, hoping it is the best one yet and wishing I could be there to celebrate with you!
Sooooo, where to begin. We did go to Lyon, France for a day before ending in Paris. When we got to Lyon, it started storming, so we ended up just walking around in the mall for awhile, getting some sandwiches for dinner, and spending time together in our hotel. We actually really enjoyed it even though we didn’t really see much of Lyon. So I’m sure it is a wonderful city, but honestly I’m not sure what it is like!
We only stayed in Lyon one night, so the next day we got on the train to Paris. I think getting to Paris was what really made being in Europe a reality for me. When you are walking past things like the Eiffel Tower, it really makes if feel real. Whaaaaat, I’m in Paris?? We arrived early on Friday morning, so we just dropped our luggage off at the hotel since we weren’t allowed to check in yet. I was so surprised at how cool it was in Paris! Most of the places we have stayed have been in the 80s. It was in the 60s most of the time with a lot of rain and wind, making it cooler than I expected for the time of year. We had a nice lunch at a French café, which was delicious. We then took a walk to the Notre Dame, which is stunning in person. We decided we were going to go back the next day for Mass. After getting settled in the hotel, we went to a famous museum called the Louvre. I think this museum holds something like 35,000 pieces of art work dating back to the ancient Greeks up to the 1800s. It was crazy to see how well people could sculpt back then, and how well these pieces of work have been preserved. This museum has the famous Aphrodite statue as well as the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is actually quite small in person. It was funny, because on the other side of the room was the Wedding at Cana painting, which filled the entire opposite wall and was far more impressive. A lot of the art work consisted of different artists’ views of the death of Jesus, which was very interesting as well. We spent about 2 hours there, but you could easily spend the entire day in that museum – it is that big!
Saturday, we started off the day with another New Europe tour, which we also had done in Madrid. From about 11 to 2:30 we walked around Paris, hearing some incredible stories and learning a lot of really interesting history. Our tour guide was very quirky. She was from New York and has been living in Paris for only a year. She gave us an incredible tour and then told us afterwards that we were only her second tour ever! To give you an example of what she was like, she told us that she was going to count to three and then we should laugh hysterically to make the tour group next to us think she was really funny. She was very entertaining for sure. My favorite part about these tours is hearing the stories. Some of my favorites are as follows. When we walked past the Notre Dame, she told us about a barbershop across the street from it. If any of you are familiar of the story of Sweeney Todd, this was pretty much that story. Our guide told us that Sweeney Todd is a fictional story, but there really was a barber across from the Notre Dame who would murder his clients and sell their meat to a cook. Also, Henry the IV built this bridge across a river, and people were afraid that it was not safe. So to get people to think it was great, Henry had a party and invited all kinds of royalty. He also invited great artists to make art of the royalty at the party. These nobles were enjoying themselves a little too much, had quite a bit to drink, and so the art work the artists created were quite funny. All along the bridge still to this day are sculptures of the faces of these royalty, all of which looking quite fabulous as you can imagine. So after those faces were added to the bridge, commoners would come to the bridge to laugh at the royalty. The bridge ended up becoming popular after all J. A lot of really interesting stories came from World War II. One story in particular was about a general in Paris who got word from Hitler as the war was coming to an end that he wanted this general to burn Paris down – if Hitler couldn’t have it, then no one can. The general didn’t want to do this because he had come to love Paris. When Hitler heard that this general hadn’t followed orders, he threatened to kill him and his family if he continued to do nothing. So this general took all of the furniture out of his house, put it in a huge building with a glass roof, broke the roof open, and set it all on fire. This made such a big cloud of smoke in the sky, it fooled Hitler into believing that Paris was burning down. Basically, this general saved Paris, which is pretty amazing. Smart huh? The last story that I will share is just one that I found pretty funny about the Mona Lisa. One of the reasons it is so famous is because people have debated forever about whether or not she is smiling in the painting. Well, just recently it has been discovered that she is smiling about 70 % in the painting. How did they figure this out? There is a store in Japan that has a device that can tell how much their employees are smiling. This store wanted to make sure that all of the employees were smiling at all times, because friendliness increases sales of course. So they used this device on the Mona Lisa. Pretty funny J. I think it is so incredible how those little details from so long ago got passed down throughout all of these years. It makes all of these people and events so real to me, and I love hearing about other people’s stories. It is such a beautiful thing to see where they all come from and why things happened the way they did.
After the tour, we were going to have a picnic outside, but it started pouring just as we were getting groceries, so we piled into our small hotel room for a tasty lunch. We then went to Mass at the Notre Dame, which was very cool. The church has a very old, gothic style, which was very pretty. The Mass was a mixture of French and Latin, but luckily for us they had sheets to follow along that had the readings in English. After Mass, we went on a search for a restaurant that Katie’s brother had recommended for us that is supposed to have incredible crepes. After some good searching, we finally came across it. The crepes truly were phenomenal, so we are grateful to Katie’s brother for the suggestion! I had a coconut and nutella one, which I really liked. We sat outside at this restaurant for a while and enjoyed the ambiance.
I would also like to make a shout out to Katie as well, because she can speak some wonderful French! Even though most people could speak a little bit of English, she was so helpful with communication and helping us get around. She also knew a lot of great things for us to see. So thanks Katie, you were great J.
Sunday, we got up nice and early to get to the Eiffel Tower when it opened at 9. It was nice because there was a lot of people, but we didn’t have to wait very long to get up there. It has a first and second floor, and the very top of course. So we took the lift all the way up to the top, and the view was so amazing! The city of Paris stretches on forever, and you can see all of the important buildings from the top. Our tour guide told us that they were actually going to tear down the Eiffel Tower at the beginning because it was ugly, but I’m really glad they kept it!
Quick funny side note – the people on the streets who try to sell things to girls call them all Lady Gaga. So many times on the streets I got called Lady Gaga. Maybe I look like her? Who knows. Why do they call girls that? I will tell you…I have no idea!
After having a nice lunch in the park, we saw the Arc de Triumph, which was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. There is a flame in the middle of it in remembrance of those who have fought for France, which is really cool. After that, we walked along a street in France that is known for expensive shops. It was amazing to see how much clothes cost on in those stores. Yikes! We walked past an Abercrombie & Fitch that had a huge golden gate with bodyguards standing on the outside, and you wouldn’t believe how long the line was to get in! It was craaaaazy. After that we took a little rest at our hotel and while we did that, I got some pictures courtesy of one of my best friends Jen Simonton, who is being nice enough to share her photos with me. And for those of you who don’t know Jen, she is truly gifted when it comes to photography and editing. So once I get to Greece, I will put some pictures up here for you all to see. Shout out to Jen for the pictures – thanks Jen J. We did some more shopping within the smaller streets of Paris, and then got some dinner and ice cream of course. We then walked up to a basilica called the Sacred Heart, which was beautiful. We sat up there for a while, because you get a great view of the whole city and you can watch Paris light up as it gets dark. Some of our friends from school happened to be staying in Paris, so we got to see a lot of familiar faces on this leg of the trip, which was so wonderful. We then ended the day at the Eiffel Tower, which is all lit up at night. Every hour, it sparkles for 5 minutes. I did not know that the Eiffel Tower sparkled – it was cool! Our tour guide told us that the artist who added the sparkle affect in the year 2000 gets paid every time that tower lights up…you can imagine how rich that guy is!
Well, today we transported ourselves to the airport via metro, and I am currently sitting on a flight to Athens, Greece. I can hardly believe that I am already done with pre-travel and getting ready to start school! Time is already going so fast…I’ve already been gone 2 weeks. I’m getting very excited to meet up with the rest of our Greco-Roman group. We will arrive in Athens tonight, and have orientation at the school for the next couple days. I believe we start classes on Thursday, so time to get to work! We are really excited to get to know the Athens area and explore a bit, as well as do weekend traveling in Greece. Not going to lie, we are also excited to get settled in one place for a couple months! I think that this was a long enough post ;) pictures to come soon!
Peace and Blessings,
Laura
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
They Can Sing, They Can Dance - After All Miss, This is France!
Thank you to Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast for a name for today's blog :)
Yes indeed, I am now in France. Nice to be specific. I believe it or not, it is really nice! Coming into town on the trains was a pure joy - the scenery was beautiful. I knew right away that I was going to like this town. I tell you what, we are professionals now at carrying our luggage from the train stations to our hotels. The walk to this hotel was about 15 minutes, so I've started making these walks into games. Dodging in and out of people can be kind of fun! Anyway, we got to our hotel, which I might add is quite groovy. Everything is bright green and there are funky add squares and circles on the walls. We really have been enjoying it so far, even though all six of us are in one room. It has been nice to have a good, cool place to come back to on these 87 degree days or so. We had a little excitement tonight when we got back though...a leak started in our ceiling! Luckily it was by the front door, so no one's stuff got wet, but little pieces of our ceiling are falling down! Oh boy...good thing we are switching locations tomorrow!
Our first day in Nice, we slept in a little because of how early we got up for the trains the day before, which I think we all needed! We then headed to the beach for a chill afternoon. It was interesting...it didn't have sand but big rocks and pebbles! We put all of our things down pretty close to the shore. I was laying on my towel, and all of a sudden, my back was getting wet. The shoreline had moved up and was soaking all of our stuff! You all would have been impressed with how quickly we all grabbed our things and moved. It was a pretty funny sight I'm sure for the people around us! The beach was truly beautiful though, and we enjoyed it. When we were walking to the beach, we noticed this waterfall way up high and decided we should check it out, so after the beach we walked up to this waterfall. It was quite the climb, but so worth it! The waterfall was cool, plus we got a great view of the entire city...breathtaking! We also saw some ancient ruines up by this waterfall/park area, which were from an old church...pretty sweet! We then found an open area in the park and threw around a frisbee for awhile. We then went on a search for a good place to eat for dinner. We found this nice restaurant that served really good pizza. The intention that we had was that we would share pizzas between two people, but this restaurant didn't allow it! The waitress said they were personal sized. We felt bad just leaving after sitting down, so we ordered on each. They were definitely not personal sized, but we all were able to finish our pizzas. So delicious!
Today, we took a day trip to Monaco, which is right under France on the coast. There was a bus that took us there, which was an adventure. It was like being on a roller coaster! Once we got there, we had the intention of seeing these gardens. Once we got a map, we realized that we had got off on the wrong side of the country! So we walked all the way to the other end to these gardens. They were full of some flowers, but surprisingly a lot of cacti! After that, some of our group waited an hour and a half to see some caves and my friend Jen and I continued on and did some exploring. Monaco basically has levels. This garden was on the very top level, and everything else was underneath on different levels, so we had the challenge of figuring out how to get to the bottom where the sea was. So we grabbed our map, went down winding roads and staircases until we found ourselves in the harbor. The water was some of the clearest I've ever seen. We enjoyed spending time down there walking around. After, we headed to a park dedicated to a princess and had a nice chat while enjoying the scenery. And naturally, we found some tasty ice cream :). After taking the bus back, we looked for another place to eat, specifically, one with French crepes for us to try. We each ordered one and passed them around so we could all try. We got sugar, lemon, chocolate, nutella, and strawberry. They were all delicious!
Tomorrow morning we are catching two trains that will take us to Lyon. We are only spending one night in Lyon so that we can have a few days in Paris. I cannot believe how fast this pre-travel is going! Before I know it, I will be writing from my apartment in Greece. Hoping all is well at home, and thinking of you all.
Peace and Blessings,
Laura
Yes indeed, I am now in France. Nice to be specific. I believe it or not, it is really nice! Coming into town on the trains was a pure joy - the scenery was beautiful. I knew right away that I was going to like this town. I tell you what, we are professionals now at carrying our luggage from the train stations to our hotels. The walk to this hotel was about 15 minutes, so I've started making these walks into games. Dodging in and out of people can be kind of fun! Anyway, we got to our hotel, which I might add is quite groovy. Everything is bright green and there are funky add squares and circles on the walls. We really have been enjoying it so far, even though all six of us are in one room. It has been nice to have a good, cool place to come back to on these 87 degree days or so. We had a little excitement tonight when we got back though...a leak started in our ceiling! Luckily it was by the front door, so no one's stuff got wet, but little pieces of our ceiling are falling down! Oh boy...good thing we are switching locations tomorrow!
Our first day in Nice, we slept in a little because of how early we got up for the trains the day before, which I think we all needed! We then headed to the beach for a chill afternoon. It was interesting...it didn't have sand but big rocks and pebbles! We put all of our things down pretty close to the shore. I was laying on my towel, and all of a sudden, my back was getting wet. The shoreline had moved up and was soaking all of our stuff! You all would have been impressed with how quickly we all grabbed our things and moved. It was a pretty funny sight I'm sure for the people around us! The beach was truly beautiful though, and we enjoyed it. When we were walking to the beach, we noticed this waterfall way up high and decided we should check it out, so after the beach we walked up to this waterfall. It was quite the climb, but so worth it! The waterfall was cool, plus we got a great view of the entire city...breathtaking! We also saw some ancient ruines up by this waterfall/park area, which were from an old church...pretty sweet! We then found an open area in the park and threw around a frisbee for awhile. We then went on a search for a good place to eat for dinner. We found this nice restaurant that served really good pizza. The intention that we had was that we would share pizzas between two people, but this restaurant didn't allow it! The waitress said they were personal sized. We felt bad just leaving after sitting down, so we ordered on each. They were definitely not personal sized, but we all were able to finish our pizzas. So delicious!
Today, we took a day trip to Monaco, which is right under France on the coast. There was a bus that took us there, which was an adventure. It was like being on a roller coaster! Once we got there, we had the intention of seeing these gardens. Once we got a map, we realized that we had got off on the wrong side of the country! So we walked all the way to the other end to these gardens. They were full of some flowers, but surprisingly a lot of cacti! After that, some of our group waited an hour and a half to see some caves and my friend Jen and I continued on and did some exploring. Monaco basically has levels. This garden was on the very top level, and everything else was underneath on different levels, so we had the challenge of figuring out how to get to the bottom where the sea was. So we grabbed our map, went down winding roads and staircases until we found ourselves in the harbor. The water was some of the clearest I've ever seen. We enjoyed spending time down there walking around. After, we headed to a park dedicated to a princess and had a nice chat while enjoying the scenery. And naturally, we found some tasty ice cream :). After taking the bus back, we looked for another place to eat, specifically, one with French crepes for us to try. We each ordered one and passed them around so we could all try. We got sugar, lemon, chocolate, nutella, and strawberry. They were all delicious!
Tomorrow morning we are catching two trains that will take us to Lyon. We are only spending one night in Lyon so that we can have a few days in Paris. I cannot believe how fast this pre-travel is going! Before I know it, I will be writing from my apartment in Greece. Hoping all is well at home, and thinking of you all.
Peace and Blessings,
Laura
Monday, August 22, 2011
Kindness Goes A Long Way
Believe it or not, I am currently sitting on a train to Nice, France. That’s right, we have officially left Spain. Our last day in Barcelona was truly a beautiful one. First, we went to church at a cathedral located in the city. This was quite the experience. It was a huge, old, and beautiful building. It was very touristy as well, because people were walking around with cameras before hand looking at memorials they had dedicated to certain saints. They didn’t even let people in the main church until Mass was ready to begin. Mass was in a mix of Spanish and Latin. I’ve taken Latin the past couple years in college, so I could pick out a few things there. Spanish, on the other hand, was what most of the Mass was in and although I took some Spanish in high school, it has been a looooong time. I could follow along just by keeping track of the order of the Mass, but otherwise, didn’t know what they were saying. This was a challenge, but I did the best I could. I wish they would’ve had books to follow along with, because then I could have at least sang along and followed along, but it was a great experience and I’m excited to learn more about Mass in the next couple countries I will be in.
After Mass, we went to the beach. It was awful.
Just kidding, it was pretty awesome. It was a perfect day – no clouds in the sky, bright sunshine. I swam in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. We also played some Frisbee and just relaxed…it was really nice, since most days we have been walking all over the place. Afterwards, we walked along the port of Barcelona, passing many huge boats. It reminded me of a bigger Navy Pier and the harbor in Baltimore, both of which I was at this summer. We came to a gelato place that Katie – one of my fellow travelers – had a friend recommended to us. Yes, I know that Italy is supposed to be the gelato specialists, but it’s only fair to give Spain a shot right ;)? Then I will try some in Italy to compare, if I have to. I guess. It was verrrrry good. I inherited my dad’s love for coconut, so when I saw they had that, I had to get it. We then walked along the streets, looking at little shops and such. There was one painter who used spray paints to make paintings. It was amazing! They looked so real! We eventually made it to the Hard Rock Café in Barcelona for some dinner. It is crazy how many American restaurants are over here. Yes Dad, they do have Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee :). I haven’t been gone that long at all but wow, a burger sure tasted good! By the time we were done eating it was close to 10:30, so we called it a night.
This morning, we had to leave our apartment by 8, and we are taking three different trains to Nice, a total of about 9 hours riding in a train. If you want to know what it is like carrying our entire luggage from one train to another, finding a place to put it all, and sitting down, I would compare it to an Olympic marathon. We get very tired on these travel days, and I must admit it will be nice to be in Greece to stop traveling around all of the time. But honestly, it has been 100 % worth it. We already had a fun encounter on the previous train we were on. Nick, who is another member of our travel team, struck up a conversation with a French guy sitting by us who knew English. It was so interesting to hear him talk about his experiences in America – he had an internship in San Francisco this past summer. He said that the people in America were so nice and the Yosemite national park was awesome. He even knew where Minnesota was! There was also another French lady next to us who wanted to give us suggestions of things to see in France, so our dude translated what she said for us, and Katie speaks a little French, so we were able to communicate well. It is so much fun for me to learn about other people’s walks in life – where they are at currently, and what makes them who they are. I really appreciated how kind these people were to us. Kindness really does go a long way. No matter how small of an act it is, people remember it for many, many years after.
Just a few more hours, and we will be off the train. I’m hoping that Nice is nice. Ha….haha…ha. But really, it looks like it will be fun. Time is really flying by…just a short week from today and we will be in Greece! Starting school! Yikes. We are excited for this last pre-travel week in France!
Peace and blessings,
Laura
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Life in Barcelona
Greetings to all!
I am now safely in Barcelona, Spain. First impression - a very good one! Coming out of Madrid was another exhausting journey. We had to take the metro to our train with ALL of our luggage. After these two weeks, I think my arms will either have fallen off completely or will look like man arms. I think one of the most challenging parts about this two weeks is having so much luggage to carry everywhere we stay. But the nice thing is, once we get to our destinations, it is so worth it. We made it to our train plenty early, and boarded around lunch time. Let me tell you, these trains were fantastic! Very smooth ride, plenty of luggage space, and way more leg room than you get on a plane. After a three hour ride, we found ourselves in Barcelona! Thankfully, our apartment was just a short walk from the station. This apartment is also pretty nice. It gets a little hot at times, but has plenty of space and a kitchen. We got our groceries and before eating dinner, we had a really nice talk as a group. It is so fun getting to know new people better. Our group gets along so well, and I can already tell I'm learning so much from them. Thank God for differences - they teach us SO much.
After having an exquisite dinner of frozen pizza and carrots, we decided to go see this giant fountain in Barcelona that has a show where they have music go along with the water. It was called the Barcelona Magic Fountain and let me tell you...it was magical! We took the metro there, and Barcelona is very pretty at night. It is big, but wasn't near as overwhelming as Madrid. We found a great spot and sat and watched the fountain light up and play music. It was HUGE and amazing - full of color. They could make the water look like smoke...it was cool!
Today, we had some breakfast in the apartment and then took the metro to this church called "La Sagrada Familia." The building for this church started in the late 1800s and is still going on today! If you saw it, you would understand why. Seriously, the most beautiful church I have ever seen. On the outside of the church, there are three facades displayed on the walls. Two are finished at this point in time. One represents the birth of Jesus, containing the scene at Bethlehem as well as some other events of Jesus' life as a child. The other finished one is the passion of Jesus (my favorite). A tour guide told us that this part was designed by the artist with a lot of sharp lines to make it look mellow and solemn. This one started with the Last Supper and pushed all the way through to Jesus being laid in the tomb. There was also a cryptogram on this facade that I recognized immediately. At home, my mom has these coasters that have numbers in four rows going up and down. If you add the numbers up in any direction, they add up to 33 - the age of Jesus when He died. I got really excited when I saw that cryptogram - something in Spain is also at home! The last facade will contain the Glory of Jesus. The church was huge and breathtakingly beautiful. I would love to show pictures now, but believe it or not, I forgot my camera. My mom asked me multiple times if I had it and I intended to check right before I left. I got so caught up in getting ready to leave and say goodbye that it slipped my mind. Sorry mom :-/...but luckily for me, I have some friends who are excellent at photography and are kind enough to share with me :). They can take way better, creative pictures than I can anyway. So eventually, I will put some pictures on here for all of you to see, so stay tuned please! Anyway, this church is supposed to get done sometime in the 2020s I believe, so I would LOVE to go back here and see the completed project.
After that, we walked to a park that climbed up high with stairs and paths. They had perfect spots for you to view the whole city of Barcelona. Soooo pretty. You can see all of the city, plus the ocean in the background. It made me realize how small we really are. From this view, Barcelona looked huge and seemed to stretch out on the earth forever. But in reality, Barcelona fills up such a tiny section of the entire earth. Wow.
We are about to eat some sandwiches for dinner, and then I'm not sure what the rest of tonight holds! Looking forward to tomorrow - we are going to the beach :). Continuing to learn and grow everyday. They say you should learn at least one new thing everyday...I'd say right now I'm averaging about 20 ;) later gators!
I am now safely in Barcelona, Spain. First impression - a very good one! Coming out of Madrid was another exhausting journey. We had to take the metro to our train with ALL of our luggage. After these two weeks, I think my arms will either have fallen off completely or will look like man arms. I think one of the most challenging parts about this two weeks is having so much luggage to carry everywhere we stay. But the nice thing is, once we get to our destinations, it is so worth it. We made it to our train plenty early, and boarded around lunch time. Let me tell you, these trains were fantastic! Very smooth ride, plenty of luggage space, and way more leg room than you get on a plane. After a three hour ride, we found ourselves in Barcelona! Thankfully, our apartment was just a short walk from the station. This apartment is also pretty nice. It gets a little hot at times, but has plenty of space and a kitchen. We got our groceries and before eating dinner, we had a really nice talk as a group. It is so fun getting to know new people better. Our group gets along so well, and I can already tell I'm learning so much from them. Thank God for differences - they teach us SO much.
After having an exquisite dinner of frozen pizza and carrots, we decided to go see this giant fountain in Barcelona that has a show where they have music go along with the water. It was called the Barcelona Magic Fountain and let me tell you...it was magical! We took the metro there, and Barcelona is very pretty at night. It is big, but wasn't near as overwhelming as Madrid. We found a great spot and sat and watched the fountain light up and play music. It was HUGE and amazing - full of color. They could make the water look like smoke...it was cool!
Today, we had some breakfast in the apartment and then took the metro to this church called "La Sagrada Familia." The building for this church started in the late 1800s and is still going on today! If you saw it, you would understand why. Seriously, the most beautiful church I have ever seen. On the outside of the church, there are three facades displayed on the walls. Two are finished at this point in time. One represents the birth of Jesus, containing the scene at Bethlehem as well as some other events of Jesus' life as a child. The other finished one is the passion of Jesus (my favorite). A tour guide told us that this part was designed by the artist with a lot of sharp lines to make it look mellow and solemn. This one started with the Last Supper and pushed all the way through to Jesus being laid in the tomb. There was also a cryptogram on this facade that I recognized immediately. At home, my mom has these coasters that have numbers in four rows going up and down. If you add the numbers up in any direction, they add up to 33 - the age of Jesus when He died. I got really excited when I saw that cryptogram - something in Spain is also at home! The last facade will contain the Glory of Jesus. The church was huge and breathtakingly beautiful. I would love to show pictures now, but believe it or not, I forgot my camera. My mom asked me multiple times if I had it and I intended to check right before I left. I got so caught up in getting ready to leave and say goodbye that it slipped my mind. Sorry mom :-/...but luckily for me, I have some friends who are excellent at photography and are kind enough to share with me :). They can take way better, creative pictures than I can anyway. So eventually, I will put some pictures on here for all of you to see, so stay tuned please! Anyway, this church is supposed to get done sometime in the 2020s I believe, so I would LOVE to go back here and see the completed project.
After that, we walked to a park that climbed up high with stairs and paths. They had perfect spots for you to view the whole city of Barcelona. Soooo pretty. You can see all of the city, plus the ocean in the background. It made me realize how small we really are. From this view, Barcelona looked huge and seemed to stretch out on the earth forever. But in reality, Barcelona fills up such a tiny section of the entire earth. Wow.
We are about to eat some sandwiches for dinner, and then I'm not sure what the rest of tonight holds! Looking forward to tomorrow - we are going to the beach :). Continuing to learn and grow everyday. They say you should learn at least one new thing everyday...I'd say right now I'm averaging about 20 ;) later gators!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Hello Madrid! Goodbye Madrid!
Believe it or not everyone it is already time for us to leave Madrid! And honestly, it still doesn't feel real that I am here!
Early Tuesday morning, Jen's parents drove us 3 hours to the airport. We checked in and hopped on our flight to Philadelphia for about 3 hours. Then, once we got to Philadelphia, we got on our flight to Madrid. After an hour delay waiting for the plane to take off, and 7 hours of flying, we landed safely in Madrid. We were able to navigate our way through the metro system - which was full of people due to World Youth Day - and finally made it to our apartment. It is reaaaaally nice :) plenty of space for all 6 of us. This place became home quite fast. At 4, we walked to a square for a tour called New Europe that they have in many famous cities. We were supposed to find people in red shirts, but we saw people with red shirts everywhere! Eventually, we gave up only to find out later that we had been looking in the wrong square :). So instead, we grabbed some delicious ice cream and explored the city for awhile. It is a really cool place, very busy but fun! They start their days around 11, have a nap (siesta) time from 2 - 4 where some places will even close, and then they eat dinner anywhere from 9 to midnight and they stay out really late. We bought some groceries and made a nice pasta dinner in our apartment. It was great just getting to know each other and getting to bed early for a good night's sleep after running around for basically two straight days with hardly any sleep. Needless to say, I was the most tired I think I've ever been!
Yesterday we experienced a lot. We had some breakfast and then headed to the correct square for the New Europe tour. Our tour guide was a very interesting man named O.D. He was from Israel and moved to Spain for the great opportunities for playing guitar. I was so impressed that he knew english for this tour, and I loved his english vocabulary. He said things like "groovy" and called everyone "baby." He had some really great stories on the tour. One of my favorites was a story about a big tall bridge. It is called the suicide bridge because it is huge and right over a busy street, so now they even have tall glass walls to prevent people from jumping. But one story he had about it was this girl from a rich family fell in love with a peasant in town. Their families said they could never be together, so this girl decided that if she couldn't be with the one she loved, then she should not live at all. She happened to be wearing a dress that was very poofy, so when she jumped it created a parachute and she floated down to the bottom. She couldn't believe what just happened, so she ran home and told her dad. She does, "Dad, Dad! I just tried to commit suicide and my dress saved me!" Her dad was like, "Wait, you were trying to kill yourself?!" He told her that if she loved her sweetheart that much, she could marry him. So she married the peasant, had 14 kids, and lived happily ever after. It was such a great tour. We learned about history from the 800s on and heard many fun stories like that. We then had lunch at an authentic Spanish restaurant that served things like calamari and octopus. We then tried to go see the Pope, but you would not BELIEVE how crowded the streets were. It took us an hour and a half just to get through all the people. We were packed in there like sardines, holding hands school style. Since it was so crowded, we didn't get to see the Pope, but it was so sweet to see so many Catholics all together praising Jesus from all over the WORLD. We even saw a flag from Minnesota! We then went to a museum with paintings from Picasso and then got some churros dipped in dark chocolate, which were delicious. I'm sure we walked over 10 hours and we were exhausted. Now, we are getting ready to catch the train to Barcelona. We can't wait to hit the beach :).
Some things I've learned...it still hasn't registered that I'm living here for 4 months. I seriously feel like I'm on a vacation and will be home soon, so that is tough. But I'm really excited for the new places ahead! Also, language barrier is tough. Some of us know a little bit of Spanish, but it is hard to communicate with the people, very few can speak English. It's an experience for sure! Last thing I learned...our tour guide mentioned something that stuck with me. He said that we should never dim our own light to match those around us, because that just makes the world a darker place. So that is what I'm leaving you all with...keep shining your light, because even though you may feel small, one small candle can light up a whole room. So shine your light, because the world is a little less dark with you in it :) now off to Barcelona!
Early Tuesday morning, Jen's parents drove us 3 hours to the airport. We checked in and hopped on our flight to Philadelphia for about 3 hours. Then, once we got to Philadelphia, we got on our flight to Madrid. After an hour delay waiting for the plane to take off, and 7 hours of flying, we landed safely in Madrid. We were able to navigate our way through the metro system - which was full of people due to World Youth Day - and finally made it to our apartment. It is reaaaaally nice :) plenty of space for all 6 of us. This place became home quite fast. At 4, we walked to a square for a tour called New Europe that they have in many famous cities. We were supposed to find people in red shirts, but we saw people with red shirts everywhere! Eventually, we gave up only to find out later that we had been looking in the wrong square :). So instead, we grabbed some delicious ice cream and explored the city for awhile. It is a really cool place, very busy but fun! They start their days around 11, have a nap (siesta) time from 2 - 4 where some places will even close, and then they eat dinner anywhere from 9 to midnight and they stay out really late. We bought some groceries and made a nice pasta dinner in our apartment. It was great just getting to know each other and getting to bed early for a good night's sleep after running around for basically two straight days with hardly any sleep. Needless to say, I was the most tired I think I've ever been!
Yesterday we experienced a lot. We had some breakfast and then headed to the correct square for the New Europe tour. Our tour guide was a very interesting man named O.D. He was from Israel and moved to Spain for the great opportunities for playing guitar. I was so impressed that he knew english for this tour, and I loved his english vocabulary. He said things like "groovy" and called everyone "baby." He had some really great stories on the tour. One of my favorites was a story about a big tall bridge. It is called the suicide bridge because it is huge and right over a busy street, so now they even have tall glass walls to prevent people from jumping. But one story he had about it was this girl from a rich family fell in love with a peasant in town. Their families said they could never be together, so this girl decided that if she couldn't be with the one she loved, then she should not live at all. She happened to be wearing a dress that was very poofy, so when she jumped it created a parachute and she floated down to the bottom. She couldn't believe what just happened, so she ran home and told her dad. She does, "Dad, Dad! I just tried to commit suicide and my dress saved me!" Her dad was like, "Wait, you were trying to kill yourself?!" He told her that if she loved her sweetheart that much, she could marry him. So she married the peasant, had 14 kids, and lived happily ever after. It was such a great tour. We learned about history from the 800s on and heard many fun stories like that. We then had lunch at an authentic Spanish restaurant that served things like calamari and octopus. We then tried to go see the Pope, but you would not BELIEVE how crowded the streets were. It took us an hour and a half just to get through all the people. We were packed in there like sardines, holding hands school style. Since it was so crowded, we didn't get to see the Pope, but it was so sweet to see so many Catholics all together praising Jesus from all over the WORLD. We even saw a flag from Minnesota! We then went to a museum with paintings from Picasso and then got some churros dipped in dark chocolate, which were delicious. I'm sure we walked over 10 hours and we were exhausted. Now, we are getting ready to catch the train to Barcelona. We can't wait to hit the beach :).
Some things I've learned...it still hasn't registered that I'm living here for 4 months. I seriously feel like I'm on a vacation and will be home soon, so that is tough. But I'm really excited for the new places ahead! Also, language barrier is tough. Some of us know a little bit of Spanish, but it is hard to communicate with the people, very few can speak English. It's an experience for sure! Last thing I learned...our tour guide mentioned something that stuck with me. He said that we should never dim our own light to match those around us, because that just makes the world a darker place. So that is what I'm leaving you all with...keep shining your light, because even though you may feel small, one small candle can light up a whole room. So shine your light, because the world is a little less dark with you in it :) now off to Barcelona!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
How to Pack for 4 Month's Worth of Time
The answer to the above title is...I have no idea :)
Here I am, sitting on my bed, thinking to myself that this is the last night I will sleep in my room for 4 months. This is somewhat hard to grasp! I think I have felt every emotion possible in the past few weeks leading up to my departure. I swear, one morning I wake up really excited, and the next one I wake up freaking out. Before I actually get to Athens when school starts, 5 of my friends and I will be spending two weeks just traveling around Spain and France and seeing some sights before the program starts. Tomorrow my dad is dropping me off in little Canby, MN where I will spend the night with my friend Jen and get up early the next morning to drive to the Minneapolis airport. We then fly from there to Philadelphia and then on to Madrid, Spain. I'm learning a lot just by trying to figure out money situations, travel options, packing, etc...and I haven't even started studying abroad yet! Or as my brother calls it, my 4 month vacation ;).
It is true that all of this preparing is tricky, but the hardest part about getting ready to leave is the goodbyes. I've been blessed with wonderful family and friends, and this in turn makes it really hard to leave them for 4 months. You truly know you must have incredible people in your life when it is so so hard to say goodbye. Even though 4 months will go by in a flash, I still feel like I'm missing a lot! My brother is in the midst of his first year of Medical School. My other brother is starting his first year of college. My littlest sister and brother are cruising through grade school - already in 5th and 3rd grade! My parents will have their jobs. All of my friends at CSBSJU and from home will have lived through an entire semester's worth. It's crazy! This is why I encourage all of you to keep in touch with me. I will not have any phone access, but will have internet access the entire 4 months. I am on Facebook, will have e-mail access, and Skype. Don't hesitate to send me an e-mail (lchey@csbsju.edu) or a message just giving me an update of what's going on in your life. I'd love to hear from you, no matter who you are :). I'M SO EXCITED, but know I will miss all of you and will keep you in my prayers! Please keep in touch and you will hear from me again once I make it to SPAIN! Take care!
Peace and Blessings,
Laura
Here I am, sitting on my bed, thinking to myself that this is the last night I will sleep in my room for 4 months. This is somewhat hard to grasp! I think I have felt every emotion possible in the past few weeks leading up to my departure. I swear, one morning I wake up really excited, and the next one I wake up freaking out. Before I actually get to Athens when school starts, 5 of my friends and I will be spending two weeks just traveling around Spain and France and seeing some sights before the program starts. Tomorrow my dad is dropping me off in little Canby, MN where I will spend the night with my friend Jen and get up early the next morning to drive to the Minneapolis airport. We then fly from there to Philadelphia and then on to Madrid, Spain. I'm learning a lot just by trying to figure out money situations, travel options, packing, etc...and I haven't even started studying abroad yet! Or as my brother calls it, my 4 month vacation ;).
It is true that all of this preparing is tricky, but the hardest part about getting ready to leave is the goodbyes. I've been blessed with wonderful family and friends, and this in turn makes it really hard to leave them for 4 months. You truly know you must have incredible people in your life when it is so so hard to say goodbye. Even though 4 months will go by in a flash, I still feel like I'm missing a lot! My brother is in the midst of his first year of Medical School. My other brother is starting his first year of college. My littlest sister and brother are cruising through grade school - already in 5th and 3rd grade! My parents will have their jobs. All of my friends at CSBSJU and from home will have lived through an entire semester's worth. It's crazy! This is why I encourage all of you to keep in touch with me. I will not have any phone access, but will have internet access the entire 4 months. I am on Facebook, will have e-mail access, and Skype. Don't hesitate to send me an e-mail (lchey@csbsju.edu) or a message just giving me an update of what's going on in your life. I'd love to hear from you, no matter who you are :). I'M SO EXCITED, but know I will miss all of you and will keep you in my prayers! Please keep in touch and you will hear from me again once I make it to SPAIN! Take care!
Peace and Blessings,
Laura
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